John Stigall
John Stigall (November 4, 1951 - November 12, 2009) was an African-American poet and academic. Life Youth and education Stigall was born and grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the youngest of 5 children born to Ada Mae (Dallas) and Robert Stigall. He was a product of the Chattanooga School System, attending Seventh-day Adventist School, Parkplace, Orchard Knob Elementary, and Riverside High School."John Stigall, Sr.," Obituaries for November 17, 2009, Chattanooga Times Free Press, November 17, 2009. Web, Jan. 11, 2019. Stigall earned a B.A. from the State University of New York at Cortland, and an M.A. from the State University of New York at Brockport. It was at Brockport in 1980 that he wrote his Master's thesis, The Morale of Consciousness Wails. Career After completing graduate school in 1980, Stigall spent 6 weeks doing poetry readings in Spain and France. He returned to Chattanooga in 1980 to teach English courses at Chattanooga State Technical Community College, where he was He was poet in residence and associate professor of English. He was well loved by his students, who often populated his office. He published several books of poetry and founded literary magazine Phoenix. He received countless academic awards and many newspaper articles were written about him in the Chattanooga Times and the Chattanooga News Free Press. Towards the end of his professorship, he was asked to read from Broken Mirrors Reflect the World at Pennsylvania State University and SUNY; his book, Subject for Other Conversations, was subsequently taught at Pennsylvania State University for a brief period. Pennsylvania State University catalog of course offerings (2001-2002) Spoken word recordings Stigall recorded 2 CDs with the progressive rock group Losfer Words, and a 2-disc compilation of his works. He was signed to Losfer Words Records and Deep Blue Wonders Music Publishing ASCAP in 1993. Stigall and label founder, David Flower, appeared on National Public Radio WUTC 88FM's Outside Pleasures show in a special episode entitled The Mentors (1994), which was simulcast in Chattanooga and Knoxville WUOT-FM TN. The broadcast showcased their adaptation of John Stigall's Broken Mirrors Reflect the World on what would become the Into the Life of this World CD and announced John Stigall's guest appearance on Losfer Words' Eye of the Storm CD on the track Midnight. Outside Pleasures was produced and hosted by Shaking Ray Levis, a well known improvisational group that has collaborated with John Zorn, David Greenberger, Fred Frith, Min Tanaka, Amy Denio, and Derek Bailey, as well as with many other critically acclaimed artists, including John Stigall. His CDs feature poetry readings backed by original musical compositions ranging from Blues to New Age performed by Losfer Words. Private life Stigall married a childhood schoolmate, Iris Starks, in 1982. The couple had 2 children, a son, John Jr., and a daughter, Johnnia. He was an avid collector of ink pens and cologne; his massive CD and record collections exemplify a love for music of all sorts. John loved to joke and laugh with all of those who surrounded him. Writing John Stigall's poetry is influenced by his experiences living in the streets of New York, the existentialist philosophy and plays of Jean-Paul Sartre, struggles with Christian spirituality, and notably racism and prejudice. Professor of education Charles M. Achilles and clinical psychologist Julie E. Williams quote from Stigall's 1990 book Broken Mirrors Reflect The World in an article discussing the alienation of minorities in academic settings in the Peabody Journal of Education:http://www.vanderbilt.edu/peabodyjournal/ :The contemporary poet, John Stigall (1990) has expressed the issue succinctly: Racism is stupid. Hatred is a bitch. Yeah, prejudice is like a house dog hunching on your leg. But you got to shake it off or it'll really screwwwwwww your head up."As Tensions Spread..." Charles M. Achilles, Julie E. Williams Peabody Journal of Education, Vol. 66, No. 4, The Relationship of the School Organization to Minority Students (Summer, 1989), pp. 5-16 In 2002, Angus Woodward published a positive review of Stigall's book Subjects for Other Conversations in Xavier Review Journal."Angus Woodward on John Stigall's Subjects for Other Conversations" Xavier Review Journal, Vol. 22, No. 1, (Spring 2002). His poem "Another Version of As Told in the Tombs" appears in the 4th volume of North Carolina State University's literary journal Obsidian III.Obsidian III: Literature in the African Diaspora, Volume 4, Number 2, (Fall/Winter, 2002-2003) The 2006 edition of the volunteer State Community College literary journal Number One includes Stigall's poem "Worship."Number One, 2006, 2. Recognition The 2001 edition of The Phoenix was dedicated to him by Bill Stifler.See "History of the Phoenix" webpage. He also received the Outstanding Young Educator Award, and other honors while he taught. He is commemorated by the John Stigall Spoken Word Competition, held annually by the humanities department of Chattanooga State Community College, in which students of the college are invited to submit original poetry that focuses on aspect(s) of African American culture, either past or present.John Stigall Spoken Word Contest, Chattanooga State Community College, 2019. Web, Jan. 11, 2019. Publications * The Morale of Consciousness Wails (master's thesis, 1980). Call Numbers: Oversize PS3569.T4775 M6 ; Thesis 339*List of SUNY at Brockport's Master's Theses *''In Avant-Gardens''. Chattanooga, TN: Damballah Press, 1983. ISBN 0-913649-01-5 *''Broken Mirrors Reflect the World''. Chattanooga, TN: Damballah Press, 1990. ISBN 0-913649-05-8 * Schizofrenzy. DuBois, PA: Mammoth Books, 1991. * Subjects for Other Conversations. DuBois, PA: Mammoth Books, 2001. ISBN 0-9666028-6-2 * Smiling From the Ancestral Face (Incomplete) Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:John Stigall, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Jan. 11, 2019. Audio / video CDs *''Into the Life of this World'' (1996) - contains poems from Broken Mirrors Reflect the World and early versions of poems that would later appear in Subjects for Other Conversations * Another Conversation With the Bard (1998) - based on poems from Subjects for Other Conversations * Into the Life of this World (1999) - reissue with new music not on the original See also *African-American poets *List of U.S. poets External links ;Audio / video *John Stigall at Soundclick.com ;Books *John Stigall at Amazon.com ;About *John Stigall, Sr. in Obituaries for November 17, 2009, Chattanooga Times Free Press References Category:1951 births Category:2009 deaths Category:People from Chattanooga, Tennessee Category:American poets Category:African-American poets Category:20th-century poets Category:African American poets Category:English-language poets Category:American academics Category:Poets